CITY OF SAN PABLO
City Council
1000 Gateway Avenue ● San Pablo, CA 94806
Main: 510-215-3000 ● Fax: 510-215-3011
www.SanPabloCA.gov
March 27, 2025
U.S. REGULAR MAIL / PERSONAL COURIER
The Honorable Alex Padilla
United States Senate
331 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
The Honorable Adam Schiff
United States Senate
112 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
The Honorable John Garamendi
United States House of Representatives
2004 Rayburn HOB
Washington, DC 20515
RE: FISCAL YEAR 2025-26 FEDERAL EARMARK / COMMUNITY FUNDING REQUESTS FROM THE
CITY OF SAN PABLO, CA
Dear Senator Padilla, Senator Schiff, and Congressional Representative Garamendi:
On behalf of the San Pablo City Council, I am writing to express my sincere appreciation and support for the City of San Pablo’s requests for community project funding in the Fiscal Year 2025-26 Federal Appropriations process.
Federal funding is being requested to support the C ity’s Top-five (5) community priority projects that will help support our socio and economically-disadvantaged community, its residents and provide the public with greater public safety, technology and transportation improvement opportunities. As a disinvested community, t hese projects will bring significant benefits to the community , both locally and regionally.
These noted priority projects are highlighted in the attachment to this correspondence, with some City projects being re-submitted for funding consideration in t he wake of unforeseen c hallenges and circumstances on securing Federal funding due to the potential for federal funding clawbacks and freeze mandates issued by the current White House Administration.
Honorable U.S. Senators Padilla, Schiff and Congressional Representative Garamendi Re: Fiscal Year 2025-26 Federal Earmark Requests from City of San Pablo, CA March 27, 2025
There is considerable economic uncertainty at the local government level on securing critically-needed Federal funding, and despite these challenges, San Pablo is submitting our Federal funding requests in good-faith in the hopes of their formal consideration for 2025-26 period, as follows:
1. San Pablo Avenue Bridge Replacement and Intersection Realignment Project
2. City-Wide Zero-Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Charging Station Hub & ZEV Integration into City Fleet Inventory
3. Emergency Back-Up Generators at City Facilities
4. Public Safety Camera Infrastructure Replacement And Expansion
5. Regional Emergency Operations Center and Real-Time Information Center Infrastructure to Support Cyber Crime Investigations
In closing, San Pablo is extremely grateful for the opportunity to submit these federal funding requests that encourage economic development and job growth for your formal consideration. We appreciate you championing these funding requests to benefit the San Pablo community, the local region, and the State of California.
The City of San Pablo would welcome any opportunity to expand on the critical need for federal funding support for these City projects, when appropriate.
Please feel free to contact San Pablo City Manager Matt Rodriguez directly at (510) 215-3016, or via email at: [email protected] if you require any additional information on the City’s Federal Funding Requests for 2025-26 period.
Thank you in advance.
Sincerely,
Arturo Cruz, Mayor
City of San Pablo
Attachment: (1) City of San Pablo 2025-26 Project Summaries of Federal Funding Requests (2) Three (3) Letters of Support for San Pablo 2025-26 Federal Funding Requests
cc: San Pablo City Council
Matt Rodriguez, City Manager
Brian Hickey, City Attorney
Maria Ojeda, Assistant City Manager
Brian Bubar, Police Chief
Allan Panganiban, Public Works Director/City Engineer
CITY OF SAN PABLO
FEDERAL EARMARK / COMMUNITY FUNDING REQUESTS
FOR 2025-26 FUNDING CONSIDERATION
(DATE OF SUBMITTAL: MARCH 27, 2025)
___________________________________________________________________________________
PROJECT #1: SAN PABLO AVENUE BRIDGE REPLACEMENT AND INTERSECT ION RE-ALIGNMENT
PROJECT
Total Federal Funding Request: Up to $8.0 Million
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The City of San Pablo requests $8.0 million to complete the project funding needed for a bridge replacement project, and “complete streets” approach to re -aligning the skewed, five -legged intersection on top of the bridge. These requested funds will allow the City of San Pablo to take advantage of the economies of scale by funding the non-bridge aspects of this project. The City received $8.4 million in Federal Bridge Replacement funds, but those cannot be used to repair the creek below the bridge or to provide the necessary upgrades for safer bicycle, pedestrian, and vehicular travel over this circa 1925 connector . There have been 55 accidents at this intersection since 2018 – including two (2) pedestrian hit-and-run accidents, one of which resulted in a fatality this past year.
The City of San Pablo is primarily a residential community of 30,000 where roughly 17% of residents get to work by public transportation, walking, or bicycling. According to the recent Contra Costa Countywide Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan, the City averaged 5.47 pedestrian injuries annually per 10,000 people— the second highest rate of pedestrian injuries in the County— and 3.19 cyclist injuries annually per 10,000 people— the County’s fourth highest rate of cyclist injuries. This intersection is at the heart of the City and carries 16,500 vehicles per day . Further, it incorporates the primary “parallel arterial route” for the I-80 Integrated Corridor Mobility program which re-directs I-80 freeway traffic to surface streets when I-80 accidents require it. One of the streets entering this intersection has the Hatlen Center for the Blind, the City ’s sole Middle School, and its Community Center – all within a half -mile.
Safe passage through the intersection and expeditious traffic flow are of the utmost importance to the safety of San Pablo residents, employers and visitors.
Currently, the City of San Pablo cannot fund the non-bridge replacement work, which would transform this intersection into a comprehensive, multi -modal, complete street experience for the traveling public, thereby - increasing safety to all users. Realigning the intersection to improve sight distance, slow the vehicles, and provide protected areas for pedestrians and cyclists are key to improving the safety of this intersection. Without these requested funds, this intersection will continue to be a challenge for the traveling public. With the funds to enhance the safety of this intersection, the City is able to more safely serve the greater community.
Previously, during 2024 -25, the City of San Pablo requested and received a Feder al earmark (community funding) allocation of $850,000 which has yet to be dispersed to the City after submittal
CITY OF SAN PABLO FEDERAL EARMARK / COMMUNITY FUNDING REQUESTS FOR 2025 -26 FUNDING CONSIDERATION
of all necessary documentation to the State of CA Departme nt of Transportation (CalTrans) to secure their release.
Additonal Federal funding is needed to construct this project. The City s ubmitted a grant application in January 2025 for the U.S. Department of Transportation's (USDOT) Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) Grant Program funding, previously known as the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) and Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) discretionary grants.
San Pablo Avenue Bridge Replacement and Intersection Realignment Project
New Project Design Alternative Under Consideration
CITY OF SAN PABLO FEDERAL EARMARK / COMMUNITY FUNDING REQUESTS FOR 2025 -26 FUNDING CONSIDERATION
PROJECT #2 : CITY-WIDE ZERO -EMISSION VEHICLE (ZEV) CHARGING STATION HUB AND ZEV
INTEGRATION INTO CITY FLEET INVENTORY
Total Federal Funding Request: Up to $3 million
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In March 2025, following a formal RFP sonication process, the City of San Pablo awarded a consultant contract in the amount of $73 ,000 to proceed with an official zero emission vehicle (ZEV) Feasibility Study to further assess and study EV infrastructure needs in our c ommunity, and to integrate Z EV vehicles into our City Fleet vehicle inventory to meet State of California Air Resources Board (CARB) Advanced Clean Fleet regulations which requires the City of San Pablo to transition to by the year 2042, with 100% ZEV integration.
The City has until January 1, 2030, to opt- in to the ZEV Milestones Option and meet ZEV targets as a percentage of fleets. Presently, the City owns 35 on -road vehicles and seven (7) off-road vehicles/equipment, excluding Police Department vehicles. The City of San Pablo currently has two (2) all-electric vehicles in its City fleet and requires a consultant to research and analyze electric vehicle options for the ZEV transition. It is important that the City of San Pablo transition to a ZEV fleet while considering various factors like vehicle total cost of ownership (TCO), charging strategies/needs, original equipment manufacturer (OEM) availability, and maintenance & repair costs.
Additionally, the City’s Climate Action Plan calls for a complete reduction of 30% of greenhouse gas emissions by the year 2035. Transportation accounts for 50% of greenhouse gas emissions within the City. The City has identified Z EVs as one solution to reduce transportation emissions. In efforts to resolve this issue, the City would like to broaden and encourage ZEV ownership for local residents and visitors through the potential development of an EV charging hub within City limits. The City is funding the consultant study to identify optimal location, to provide information about Z EV charging station contracting approaches, and to perform a revenue analysis to determine the potential revenue capability of a City-owned ZEV charging hub.
PROJECT #3: EMERGENCY BACK-UP GENERATORS AT CITY FACILITIES
Total Federal Funding Request: Up to $1 million
The City of San Pablo is in desperate need of Federal funding to support the procurement of back -up generators for three (3) City facilities: San Pablo Community Center, San Pablo Senior Center, and San Pablo City Hall to be used during power outages, public safety power shutoffs (PSPS) events, and other critical emergencies where back- up generators are needed for the continuation of essential City services. THIS IS A CR ITICAL PUBLIC SAFETY NEED for maintaining the safety and well- being of the public during emergencies, and to ensure that essential City facilities remain operational for disaster relief efforts, and for maintaining the functions of local government operations.
PROJECT #4: PUBLIC SAFETY CAMERA INFRASTRUCTURE REPLACEMENT AND EXPANSION
CITY OF SAN PABLO FEDERAL EARMARK / COMMUNITY FUNDING REQUESTS FOR 2025 -26 FUNDING CONSIDERATION
Total Federal Funding Request: Up to $3 million
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Since 2011, the City of San Pablo has invested in Public Safety Camera Infrastructure to include the installation of (281) situational awareness cameras and (82) automated license plate reader (ALPR) cameras. These assets have been integral in reducing violence and overall crime as much as 32% in San Pablo. The City of San Pablo is located in West Contra Costa County and is considered a gateway to multiple jurisdictions wit h nearly 60 -million vehicles traveling through the City in 2024. As such this Public Safety Camera technology has been utilized as a regional asset as in the past 12-month, 102,925 wanted/felony/stolen/ or Missing Persons vehicles were alerted utilizing these systems. The success of this program has been embraced by the San Pablo Community with more than 70% of those surveyed supporting further technology investments according to recent Public Safety Survey by the Strategy Research Institute.
Currently, some these camera assets are reaching end of life and need replacement. The City of San Pablo must fund the replacement and potential expansion of these assets in continuing to support crime reduction strategies. Without sufficient funding, much of this infrastructure will be down for undetermined periods and compromising progress established to this point. With the funds to replace and enhance the Public Safety Camera Infrastructure, the City can continue support the safety initiatives of San Pablo residents.
CITY OF SAN PABLO FEDERAL EARMARK / COMMUNITY FUNDING REQUESTS FOR 2025 -26 FUNDING CONSIDERATION
PROJECT #5: REGIONAL EMERGENCY OPERATIONS CENTER AND REAL -TIME INFORMATION
CENTER INFRASTRUCTURE TO SUPPORT CYBER CRIME INVESTIGATIONS
Total Federal Funding Request: Up to $2 million
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The City of San Pablo is constructing a new Police Department Headquarters with a component of a R
egional Training Center and tentatively scheduled to open by August 2025. This facility was designed with consideration of providing collaborative resources during catastrophic events as a Regional Emergency Operations Center. West Contra Costa County is made up of the local cities which include:
El Cerrito, Richmond, San Pablo, Pinole, Hercules, and Unincorporated County communities. During the Covid-19 Pandemic, it was determined West Contra Costa County lacked a centralized location to collaborate and deploy resources to our respective communities. The new San Pablo Police facility will encompass enhanced technology which will need to be accessed and monitored on a consistent basis to support critical incident response and on- going cyber -crime investigations. The new Police Department was also designed to encompass a Real -Time Information Center, which will serve an enhanced public safety response to include:
• Firs
t -of-its-kind Drone as a First Responder program: This program will allow officers to utilize drones strategically located remotely within the City to respond to priority incidents to provide responding personnel with real-time situational awareness.
• Regional Cyber Crime Investigations: Emerging criminal activity has evolved to be carried out regularly by means of computers or the internet. Investigations hav e become complex and reliant on sophisticated equipment and software for data analytics and cryptoanalyst capabilities. San Pablo PD aims to utilize these tools to support regional law enforcement needs in West Contra Costa County.
The San Pablo Police Dep artment's technology team will consist of full -time employees with a wide range of expertise in the public safety space. We have successfully assisted local agencies on an as-needed basis, leveraging both internal resources and external partnerships. Ensur ing proper support and staffing to address challenges in public safety technology is increasingly difficult, particularly for agencies with limited resources or specialized knowledge. Our team will assist in bridging that gap, providing the expertise neces sary to navigate the evolving technology landscape in public safety.
• Emergency Operations Center (EOC) for West Contra Costa County : There have been discussions with County partners in having this facility identified as the regional EOC during critical incidents or catastrophic disasters impacting the region.
These integrated technologies require high-performance computers, displays, and equipment to meet the complexities in dealing with modern public safety priorities. Funding is being sought for one -time procurement to establish infrastructure to support this regional response.
CITY OF SAN PABLO FEDERAL EARMARK / COMMUNITY FUNDING REQUESTS FOR 2025 -26 FUNDING CONSIDERATION
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